A dead deer found at the end of North Fork Road, on U.S. Forest Service land, has led to an ongoing investigation led by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

A hiker saw the dead deer saturday morning and called it in as a deer-poaching incident. The dead deer, and numerous shell casings, were located at the scene.

Sgt. Kim Chandler of the Department of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement, said after the department received the phone call about the deer, a group of five people were found about three miles from where the animal was found. The subjects appeared to be sleeping in the vehicle, Chandler said.

The deer, cut into parts, was located in a cooler in the car, along with at least one stolen firearm and another with a serial number ground off. Other weapons had no serial numbers at all.

The group told officials they had hit the deer with their car on Friday, April 19. After, Chandler said, they shot it dozens of times — with at least three different firearms. But it remains unclear if the subjects hit the deer with the car first or if they shot and killed the animal, falling outside deer-hunting parameters.

One person has been arrested and booked into King County Jail, illegally in possession of a firearm. The investigation remains ongoing.